Xbox One Price Chopped Before E3

As we get closer to the annual gaming advertising fair known as E3, more rumors and deals are beginning to appear. Sometimes, those deals can appear to be validation of those rumors -- as in the case of the Xbox One getting its price chopped by $50 ahead of the marketing blitz about to descend.

This price drop notably puts the Xbox One 500GB version at $299 US and the 1TB version at $319. Other various versions of the console have received a cut as well. Right now at the Microsoft Store, your best bet is probably the Spring Bundle which will run you $319 for the 1TB Xbox One, a Controller, Halo 5: Guardians, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, Rare Replay, and Ori and the Blind Forest, to get you right into gaming on the console right away.

Other offers include a Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege bundle with that game as well as two previous Rainbow Six titles, a 500GB Xbox One + Kinect for $349 , a 500GB Xbox One with a controller and one choice of either Forza Motorsport 6, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, or Rare Replay for $299.

This price cut comes just after rumors of a Xbox One Slim making an appearance at E3 as well as that of a significantly upgraded version codenamed Xbox Scorpio reported to be released sometime in 2017. This may be a way of attempting to lower stock amounts ahead of that, a way to incentivize people to buy the console before the formal announcements, or an attempt to lure people into buying the Xbox One when they see some of the games that they are showing. Or perhaps most likely, all of the above.

The price and bundles do make this somewhat appealing, but knowing that we’re likely seeing an announcement of two new models in just a couple weeks dampens that. It’s also not the first time that the Xbox One has been at $299 and will likely be again at holiday season sales. I do think the price cut is directly related to the upcoming rumored E3 announcements, and it will be interesting to see Microsoft’s show this year.

But what do you think? Are you more interested in the Xbox One at this price point or are you going to wait to see what new information comes out at E3? Share your thoughts in the comments below!